(A more detailed report will follow in coming days.) Elected Board members for the coming 2 years are: Don Hix, Treasurer; Sam Walton, Secretary, Bubba Gehm, Vice-president; Keith Holman, President. 2021 Reunion - I decided to hold off until June 18 to announce the options and begin voting. The reas...

Local news also covered the Tolling Ceremony at our Reunion in Rapid CIty. https://www.kotatv.com/content/news/USS-James-Madison-reunion-honors-submariners-510124021.html?fbclid=IwAR2VWU5UOeUuUFqzbkvIxu-jRwX9juBJbLXoZyjQNPD0unWIu5C9aOSxqk8 This second link includes video of what was aired on TV. htt...

If you're like Betty and me, you'll enjoy reading Rick Campbell's books. He tells a story well. We got this note from him about his newest release. Note that Rick has routinely donated a number of copies of his books to submarine reunions, including ours. NEED YOUR HELP! Each year, I donate 3,000 bo...

Or more precisely, comparing a refundable hotel rate with breakfast to others. As part of the Reunion package, we've negotiated with Ramkota Rapid City to provide rooms with a king size or 2 queen beds for 2 people for $120 plus tax. This includes the breakfast buffet for two adults with the room ea...

The closest thing to a list will be pictures after the reunion. I can understand wanting to know ahead of time but some folks don't want to publicize that their house will be empty while they're out of town and other reasons for not publicly advertising their plans ahead of time. You've got to respe...

Paul W. Middents March 23, 1939 to April 19, 2018 Captain Paul W. Middents, USN Ret., 79, of Silverdale, WA, passed away peacefully in his home on April 19, 2018 after an 8 1/2 year battle with cancer. Paul was born on March 23, 1939 in Madelia, MN to Rev. L.R. and Beula (Burdick) Middents. A gradu...

Michael H. Bailey, MMCS(SS), USN, Ret. (Former COB, 1973-1975) Obituary Michael Howard Bailey, 79, of Hickory, passed away Tuesday, October 9, 2018 at Trinity Village in Hickory. Born May 14, 1939 in Dayton, OH, he was the son of the late Martha Frost Bailey and Michael Bailey. In addition to his pa...

Looking for anyone who might have known Raymond Johnson.
He has passed and funeral services are set for Friday, Dec 28. Looking for any info (particularly Nay related time) for use by a speaker at the funeral. Thanks!

Just across the Cooper RIver from Charleston lies the Cold War Submarine Memorial. We stopped there on Saturday morning to see how its changed (they've added several individual memorials since we were last there) and to see the recently-added James Madison (SSBN 627) bench. 35143588_2184247744923232...

We've been approached several times about the possibility of accepting cards (credit/debit) for electronic payments instead of requiring a check for reunion reservations or memberships or ship's store items. We've done some preliminary investigations and recognize there are conveniences for the asso...

We've finally gotten to show real progress on a couple of things like the store and the bench and its frustrating how long some things take. But then I remember some other schedules I've been subjected to. Like the refueling/missile conversion overhaul at NNS&DD in the early 80s. I arrived onboard t...

The bench at Patriots Point Cold War Submarine Memorial has been ordered and the deposit sent in. The monument company will likely take 3-4 more months until a suitable piece of stone is quarried. When it is ready, Charleston Subvets will be notified of a date when SSBN627 sailors are invited to par...

Retailer joins effort to turn South Carolina submarine into an artificial reef By John McDermott jmcdermott@postandcourier.com Oct 16, 2017 A division of a South Carolina clothing company has joined an effort to turn a World War II submarine on display at Patriots Point into an artificial reef off ...